1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flat panel display and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a flat panel display including a capping layer that covers a conductor and a method of manufacturing the flat panel display.
2. Description of the Related Technology
A thin film transistor (TFT) used in flat panel displays, such as, liquid crystal displays, organic light emitting displays, or inorganic light emitting displays, serves as i) a switching device that controls the operation of each pixel and ii) a driving device that drives each pixel.
The TFT typically includes: i) a semiconductor layer having a source area, a drain area, and a channel region formed between the source and drain areas, ii) a gate electrode insulated from the semiconductor layer and located correspondingly to the channel region, and iii) a source electrode and a drain electrode contacting the source and drain areas, respectively.
Recent flat panel displays are required to be thin and flexible. To obtain a flexible flat panel display, many recent attempts have been made to use plastic instead of glass for the substrate of the flat panel display. A low-temperature process, instead of a high-temperature process, is required to manufacture a TFT having such a plastic substrate. Hence, it is difficult to form a conventional polysilicon-series TFT on the plastic substrate.
To solve this problem, an organic semiconductor has been introduced. Because the organic semiconductor can be formed in a low-temperature process, a low-priced TFT can be obtained. However, the organic semiconductor can be easily damaged during a subsequent wet process, so special care is required.
When a flat panel display is manufactured using such a TFT, subsequent processes, such as, a process of forming a pixel circuit including a TFT, a pixel electrode forming process, etc., are very complicated.
In this flat panel display, various electrodes or lines may pass through an insulating film formed thereon due to the roughness of the surfaces of the electrodes or lines and contact a conductor formed on the insulating film. The contact with the conductor may cause a circuit, particularly, a pixel circuit, to electrically short-circuit.